I know someone who says “Christmas is just another day” which makes me feel very sad. Even if, unlike some of us, you aren’t celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is still, I hope a very special time.

Last year, I caught the flu, so spent the whole of Christmas and the New Year alone in my flat. I wasn’t upset because I knew that they were missing me in York, so I didn’t feel unwanted.

I used to agree with the people who think that preparations start too early, but have changed my mind. If it spreads the happiness then that must be a good thing.

What really does upset me is the fact that some people spend so much that they start the New Year in debt. Small gifts chosen with love can bring much happiness . My mother would plant dozens of hyacinth bulbs in autumn so that they would be in full bloom to offer at Christmas.

One year I made white silk scarves and decorated them using fabric paints. My friends wore them for years! It’s the same with your home décor. Imagination is more important than money!

When we lived on the French Riviera our favourite place at Christmas was always St Tropez. We shopped there at the market twice a week but not in December. Why? The market becomes a skating rink. The surrounding trees sparkle with fairy lights!

In French a card is “une carte”. You could also say “La carte s’il vous plait” if you want to see the menu.

Why cards? Well Christmas is on the horizon and anyway I am very fond of them! Luckily I received seventy on my birthday this year which gave me much pleasure. I never throw any away! Those from family and close friends I keep and I cut pictures from others to use for writing notes.

When we bought Hotwells Post Office there was only one card stand displaying cards worth £10. When we sold thirteen years later we had four card stands with hundreds of pounds worth of cards.

I prefer blank cards so that you can write personal messages. However the cards that sold quickly were the ones with the most words. We decided that we would only put out Christmas cards in November, but that didn’t happen. Customers were asking for them in August!

There is a different card culture in France. I’ve never seen a specialist card shop there. You find a small selection at a “Maison de la Presse” usually hidden behind the newspapers, otherwise you have a limited choice in the supermarkets.

The card that you are most likely to receive is one to celebrate your “Jour de Fête” which is your Saints’ Day. We don’t all have one. It won’t surprise you to learn that that there is no St Esmé!

A few people are lucky enough to have two of these special days. Charles for instance, has St. Charles on 4th November, but in France would also get cards on March 2nd as that is the Fête of St Charles le Bon. It gets very complicated. I had a few cards on 20th February as that is St. Aimée’s day and they said that Aimêe meant the same as Esmé, but I think they were just being kind.

If you have ever been into our beautiful church on Frenchay Common you will have seen a card stand in the church room, near the entrance. It was made long ago by Dr Judith Langfield’s father. On my return from France in 2002 I went most weeks with Kath New to help a lady called Jeanne Bayley to make the cards. Now Vanessa Woolcock and I buy them. Every little helps and the profits go to church funds. Our thanks to all of you who buy a card or perhaps donate one or two! I plan to fill the stand soon with Christmas cards in case you would like to buy a few.

The only advice that I intend to give you is to be very cautious about giving yours to anyone!

Advice in French is un avis. Almost the same word with the same meaning “opinion given as to further action”. We knew a person who was considering whether to undergo a medical procedure. Her daughter-in-law persuaded her that it was a good idea so she had the operation. Unfortunately the outcome was very sad and she ended up in a wheel chair. The daughter-in-law was blamed for giving the wrong advice and was ostracized by the whole family!

Another example concerned my husband and myself. Whilst working for Haven holidays in the Vendee region of France and living in a mobile home, we started to search for a property to buy. We found a new development south of Les Sables d’Olonne and were about to pay a deposit on a beautiful flat. The selling agents told us that it was a marvellous investment as the site would become a very prosperous port. On returning to the Haven campsite we told the owners of our plan. “Don’t do it “ they said “it will never become a port as the tides are completely wrong for that to happen.” We bought a house on the Vendean Coast instead. Have you guessed? Within a few years the place where we nearly bought the flat became a spectacular port both for pleasure and fishing boats! We didn’t mind as we loved our home anyway.

Another word that is similar in French, a bicycle is “une bicyclette”. I’ve just been watching the Tour de France on TV which reminded me of the bicycles in my life! My husband and I were watching the Tour de France from the roadside one year, what speed! They were here one moment and gone the next!

As a child I lived in St. George which was not far from the Speedwell coal mines. Like many children I was taught to ride on the “coal tumps”. You were pushed up one side and left to free-wheel down the other side!

At the age of five I was riding down a steep hill in St George’s Park when a boy stood ahead of me with his arms outstretched! I only had a front brake which I slammed on. The bike tipped up and I flew off breaking my two front teeth. Then followed many visits to the Dental Hospital.

At sixteen, as a reward for gaining my school certificate I had a lovely blue fixed wheel bike. It was a new skill, because to brake you had to pedal backwards. Why did I choose that? I was the only girl in the cycling club to which I belonged, and all the boys had fixed wheel bikes!

Our first campsite working for Haven Holidays in Brittany had sixty two mobile homes, they were so spaced out that we needed bikes in order to run it efficiently!

However, my best memory of cycling came when we retired and lived in the south of France. You may know what “les planches” are (another word similar to our “planks” ). They are the wooden walkways along some beaches. The ones between Deauville and Trouville are the best known because so many of the Impressionist painters featured ladies with their parasols strolling along them. The Mayor, “Monsieur le Maire” of Le Lavandou had planches installed between his town and our Pleasure Port. In the winter season, when there were less tourists, my husband and I used to pedal along the beach on the planches! What memories!

This year we didn’t have to wonder which season we are in. It is definitely summer! People think that as we lived for many months on the French Riviera I must be used to heat, but as we always bought flats overlooking the Mediterranean we had sea breezes.

Life was one long holiday. Our favourite month being August when our family came to stay. It was also the month when we celebrated my husband’s birthday and our wedding anniversaries, ours and our son and daughter-in-law's. Both of our children were married in France.

Before moving to France we sold our flat in Clifton to Keith Floyd (the chefs’ chef as James Martin calls him). I’m a great fan and often follow some of his ideas. I don’t use kitchen scales, but in case you do, I’ll give you some quantities of ingredients. I don’t like cheese in meat or fish dishes but it is so useful in other meals.

For instance, why not (for about four people) slice three large aubergines thinly and brown in butter. You make several layers of them in a greased baking dish with a bottle (400ml) of passata (liquid tomatoes) and 100grs of your favourite grated cheese. How many layers depends on the size of your dish! Cover with breadcrumbs and dot with butter.

This goes into a medium oven for about 20 minutes. You will of course have seasoned to taste. Instead of salt and pepper, I use plenty of crushed garlic. My daughter has just bought me a huge “elephant garlic” from Prince Charles shop in Tetbury. If your family enjoy this quick and easy meal you can use your imagination and create plenty of variations such as chicken, mushrooms and potatoes. You’ll need a small tin of condensed soup to provide the sauce.

To drink with these dishes I would choose a light red wine. Chilean Merlot from Downend Co-op is very affordable and drinkable, or if you prefer you could try Elderflower or tomato juice instead.

My French friends are amused that we sometimes ask people to say “Cheese” when taking their photograph. “Fromage” wouldn’t make them smile!

I expect that many of you have cheese in your fridge. I do because it makes a quick snack and is the basis for many delicious dishes and sauces. Vegetarians aren’t excluded because there is a rennet-free version and vegans have coconut or soya “cheese”.

Perhaps you finish a meal with cheese? In France, it always comes before the dessert. I remember one evening on a roof terrace in the south of France when the hostess served a savoury cheesecake instead. You may be wondering how the food arrived on the roof, there was a lift from the flat below.

If you would like to try this dish, it’s easy enough for children to enjoy making until it’s ready for the oven.

To 125g of oatcakes and 75g of digestive biscuits add about 25g shelled walnuts and crush them all finely.

Use this mixture to line a buttered loose bottomed cake tin and chill thoroughly. Meanwhile heat your oven to 150° or Gas mark 2.

To make the filling, beat together several tubs of cream cheese, 4 beaten eggs and chopped chives. No salt needed but you could add pepper or garlic if that is to your taste.

Bake for about an hour, but keep a watch and remove when set. Leave to cool in the tin.

Did you know that Bristol has a Cheese Fest every December?

Did you watch the Cheese Roll competition in Gloucester? I didn’t as there are so many injuries! I switched off the television, poured out some wine, cut some Brie and had a Cheese and Wine party!

This is a subject that one could write a book about but I will limit it to history, geography, fashion and food!

I prefer cream on my desert. Talking to my friend Dave, he said that he always has clotted cream on his ice-cream. I thought that he was joking, but no! He says that the cold base solidifies the cream.

There was a café in Babbacombe that served it. When my family lived in the Vaucluse area of France we sometimes visited an open-air restaurant on a hill side where only ice-cream was on their menu, but over one hundred varieties. The most popular was lavender flavour. George Washington loved oyster flavour! That wouldn’t be to my taste.

Wealthy Italians in Florence were eating ice-cream as long ago as 1500. When Catherine de Medici married King Henry of France in 1533 she insisted that it was eaten at their wedding reception. In 1671 Charles II served it at his Garter Banquet, but only for the royal guests on the top table! I don’t know whether it is true, but it’s said that Margaret Thatcher helped to formulate the “Classic 99” for Mr Whippy.

Now we come to fashion! This spring/summer the shows were featuring ice-cream colours. The Chanel cat walks had vanilla, Versace showed plenty of violet cream and Céline favoured strawberry. There is even a museum of ice-cream in America!

Medical researchers have discovered that you have less chance of developing dementia if you speak a second language!

Isn’t that a good reason to learn some French even if you aren’t going to France for your next holiday? As a teacher of English in France and French in our country I always relied on building confidence and making learning fun.

Everyone of you reading this already know hundreds of French words! Cognates are words that have the same meaning and are very close in spelling to the French. There are over 2500 cognates! No space here for a full list, but ask me if you want more. For instance, doctor is docteur in French. Interior is interieur. I expect that you have noticed that our 'or' changes to 'eur'. Other examples are creator becomes createur, cultivator is cultivateur, elector is electeur, emperor is empereur etc.

Another, I think interesting thing is that when one of our words starts in 's' , the French equivalent sometimes starts in 'e'. Our school is their école. Change 'e' to 's' and scole sounds more like school. Our word study is French étude. Swap the 'e' to 's' and stude sounds more like study!

I find language fascinating and hope that you do too. We are never the wrong age to learn. In France my youngest pupil was three. She was my doctor’s daughter. I worked for the Chamber of Commerce, Chambre de Commerce! My oldest group of students were over eighty!

I’ve always been a thinker which isn’t always a good thing if the thoughts are worrying! I get into my lovely warm bed on these icy nights and worry about those poor folk lying on the pavements. One of my junior school reports says “Esmé is always asking questions!”

I phoned my son yesterday to ask why all the birds don’t migrate in the winter, as I worry about the few who are left. He told me that they are insulated. I didn’t know that.

My motto should be “Don’t worry, it may never happen.“ I used to think that women worry more than men, but have changed my mind about that. Many of my male friends worry as much as I do!

I’ve just written this little poem.

Thoughts are like butterfliesElusive fragile thingsNot always bright and beautifulJust going round in rings.One leads to anotherA never ending spireThey can be inspirationalOr more a funeral pyre.It’s hard to think to orderTo chase away the badI wish such thoughts could stay awayAnd never be so sad,If they were up for auctionI’d buy a ton or two­ -I’d only keep the happy onesAnd throw out all the “blue”.

Happy thoughts are with me today because my son is coming to France with me at the end of April to celebrate my birthday.

My wish for you all this April is to have contented and exciting thoughts!

It’s almost Easter and many children will be having fun hunting for Easter eggs in their garden. I had a treasure hunt every year on my birthday! My husband knew that my favourite present was a cheque so that I could go shopping for clothes. However Ron wanted to put some thought into the gift so I had to follow clues to find it! It often came wrapped around a heart shaped pebble he had found on the beach or an engraved message. How lucky I was!

Are you fond of real eggs? I prefer the chocolate variety but I’m naughty!

Have you ever made a “Croque Madame”? You need to start by making some Bechamel sauce.

For two people heat about 150mls of full cream milk until it simmers.

Now melt in 20grs butter and stir into it 20 grs plain flour to form a paste and cook until it bubbles.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk to make a smooth sauce.

Toast or fry four slices of bread.

Then grate about 160 grs of cheese.

The next stage is the assembly which children enjoy helping to do!

Take two slices of the prepared bread and cover with about 100grs cheese.

Pour over half of the sauce and top with a slice of ham.

Next top with another slice of bread and repeat with first the rest of the sauce and then the remainder of the cheese.

It needs about 8 minutes under the grill, but watch to see when the cheese has melted.

Now you have your “Croque Monsieur”.

To turn it into a “Croque Madame” just pop a fried egg on top of each one!

I like a glass or two of wine with mine, but you may prefer a cup of tea or coffee.

To make a larger meal the French usually have chips on the side. To make a vegetarian Croque, just leave out the ham.

Bechamel sauce is a good one to make as it is so versatile. Add the grated cheese and melt it in the sauces so that it can be used for cauliflower cheese or a leek pie for example. Adding some tomato sauce to it makes it a pretty pink.